The flintlock rifle from the Gatchina Palace and Estate Museum was made in the 1720s by one of the most famous gunsmiths of Vienna — Caspar Zellner. Numerous weapons from his workshop can be found in many museums. Judging by the coat of arms engraved on the lock plate, the rifle used to belong to the heir of Elector of Saxony Augustus II or Augustus the Strong.
Later he became Elector of Saxony Frederick Augustus II and King of Poland Augustus III and ruled the country from 1733 till 1763. The barrel is made of forged iron partially blued and is octagonal in section. The bore has seven semi-circular grooves. The rear sight is made of gilded bronze and consists of one fixed and one folding low blades with round notches. The base of the sight is made in the form of an ornamental band with curls in relief. By the breech and muzzle ends there is a pattern of curls inlaid with gold. On the upper plane of the barrel at the breech end there is an inscription made in the same technique. It reads ‘Caspar Zelner’, meaning the name Caspar Zellner.
The breech end is also decorated with an engraved pattern and the stylised figure ‘2’. In the 18th century many hunters in the German lands still preferred wheellock rifles. But the construction of the flintlock was more simple and reliable and gradually gained popularity. So the combination of the wheellock rifle stock with the flintlock was a compromise solution. The rifle has a French type flintlock mechanism. By its form and size the plate is similar to a wheellock plate. The lock plate is flat and is decorated with an engraved image of a woman holding a spear and accompanied by two dogs. There is also an engraved coat of arms of Crown Prince Frederick Augustus. The lock plate has two engraved inscriptions: ‘Caspar Zelner’ under the priming pan and ‘in Wienn’, meaning ‘in Vienna’, between the two ends of the frizzen spring.
The stock is made of nut wood and decorated with carved curls. There is also a fancy shaped gilded bronze plate on the upper plane of the stock. The cheek piece has wooden, horn and ivory stripes glued to it. The central part of the patch box lid is made of wood, while its left and right parts are made on horn inlaid with thin ivory stripes. The furniture of the rifle includes a butt plate, a trigger guard, a bridle in the lock, two ramrod pipes and an iron protecting screw. All the elements apart from the crew are made of gilded bronze.
